Sewing machine



w. c. MEYER.

SEWING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILD SEPT- 6. 1918- 1,429,520. Patented Sep19, 1922.

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w. c. MEYER.

SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 6 IBIS.

Patented Sept. 19,1922.

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WILLIAM C. MEYER, OF BEVERLY. MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOEllIACEINERY CORPORATION, OF PA'IERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW'JERSEY.

SEWING MACHINE.

Original application filed May 6, 1916, Serial No. 95,893. Divided and.this application filed September To all whom/it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. MEYER, a citizen of the United States,residing atBeverly, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing Machines;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present machine relates to sewing machines and more particularly tothread cutting and grippin devices for severing the thread between themachine and the work when a seam has been completed and for holding thefree end of the thread projecting from the thread handling devices during the formation of one or more stitches at the beginning of the sewingof a seam.

The invention is designed particularly to be applied to wax threadsewing machines and is illustrated in this application as embodied in amachine of this class but is not limited in its application to thisclass of machines.

The objects of'the invention are to improve the construction and mode ofoperation of thread cutting and gripping devices of the above type andto produce such a thread gripping device in which the thread may be morequickly and easily inserted be tween the thread gripping jaws andsevered than could be done in such thread cutting and'grippingdevicesheretofore devised.

lVith these objects in view the inventor contemplates as a feature ofthe invention the provision of means for controlling and relativelyactuating-the jaws of the gripping device so as to cause the same to lierelatively in open positions to receive the thread when the work isremoved from the machine and to lie in closed position so as to grip thethrea-d during the formation of at least the first stitch, upon startingthe machine. lVith the jaws lying in open position when the work isremoved from the machine, the thread intermediate the work and thestitch forming device may be quick ly and easily inserted between thethread gripping jaws in proper position to be engaged by the jaws whenthey are closed. In the preferred form of the invention the aws SerialNo. 252,968.

of the gripping device are opened to receive the thread upon stoppingthe machine, and are closed to grip the thread as the machine isstarted.

Other features of the invention consist of certain novel and improvedconstructions, arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafterdescribed and particularly pointed out in the claims, the advantages ofwhich will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

The features of the invention will be read ily understood from theaccompanying drawings illustrating a machine embodying the invention inits preferred form and the following detailed description of theconstructions therein shown.

In the drawings, Figure l is a View in side elevation of an inseam shoesewing machine embodying the invention looking from the left side of themachine; Fig. 2 is a detail view in side elevation illustratingparticularly the thread gripping and cutting devlces; Fig. 3 is a detailplan viewillustrating the parts shown in Fig. 2, with the portion of theframe to which they are attached omitted for the sake of clearness, andFig. 4 is a view in front elevation of the construc tion shown in Fig.2.v i

The machine illustrated in the drawing is an inseam shoe sewing machineof. the type ordinarily employed in sewing welts and upper to theinsoles of lasted shoes. This machine is provided :with a curved hookneedle, a curved work feeding a-wl and 'a ward rotation of. the shaft,then to impart a reverse rotation thereto, and finally to bring theshaft to restin a predetermined position. A construction and mode ofoperation of all of the parts of the present machine above brieflydescribed are the-sameas the corresponding parts of'the machineillustrated and described in applicantsco-pending application, SerialNo. 95,893, filed May 6, 1916, of which the present applicationconstitutes a division.

The devices for severing the thread between the machine and the workupon the completion of a seam and for holding the free end of the threadafter, the thread is severed, in the machine illustrated in thedrawings, comprise a fixed thread cutting knife and a thread grippingdevice provided with relatively movable thread clamping jaws which areopened to receive the thread upon stopping the machine and which areclosed upon the thread to grip the same as the machine is started. Inthe construction shown, the thread gripping device comprises a fixedgripping aw 5 carried by a plate'6 secured to the machine frame, and amovable gripping aw 8 carried by a block 10 secured to a longitudinallymovable slide rod 12. The thread gripping jaws are located above and tothe left of the looper and thread arm in convenient position for theoperator to place the thread between the jaws by a simple, easilyeXcuted movement of the shoe after the shoe is disengaged from themachine; The fixed aw is provided with a hooked end ll to catch thethread leading from the looper across the underside of the thread arm tothe shoe as the shoe is moved forwardly, and thus assist the operator inplacing the thread between the aws.

The rod 12 is moved rearwardly to open the thread gripping jaws uponstopping the machine by means of an arm 16 carried by a sleeve 18. Thearm 16 is formed with a slot 20 in which engages a pin 22 mounted on therear end of the slide rod 12. As the direction of rotation of the mainshaft is reversed upon stopping the machine, the sleeve 18 is rocked ina direction to swing the arm 16 rearwardly to retract the slide rod '12and thereby open the thread gripping jaws. The sleeve 18 is locked inthe opposite direction as the machine is started and the slide rod 12 isthen advanced to carry the movable thread gripping jaw 8 toward thefixed jaw 5 by the action of a coiled spring 24L attached at one and tothe slide rdd 12 and at the other to anarm of a bell crank lever 26pivoted at 28 on the frame of the machine. The other arm of the bellcrank lever 26 carries an abutment screw 30 arranged to engage anabutment 32 on the frame. The tension of the spring 24- may be adjustedby the adjustment of the abutment screw 30 in the arm of the bell crank.The adjustment of this screw regulates the pressure of the movable jaw 8of the thread clamping device on the thread and thus regu lates thetension exerted. by the clamping device upon the thread during theformation 'of the first few stitches.

The sleeve 18 is rocked in a dirction to swing the arm 16 rearwardly bythe movement of a lever 36 pivoted on a stud 38, one

i ieaaeo machine, and is allowed to move rearwardlyto its normalposition upon starting the machine. The sleeve 18 is rocked in theopposite direction by means of a coiled spring 62 connected at one endto the forward end of the arm l l at the other to a point on the frameof the machine.

The thread cutting knife is indicated at 54 and is mounted on the frameso that its cutting edge lies above and forwardly of the thread grippingjaws, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and l. The knife edge is located relativelyto the gripping aws so that a sutficient length of thread will be leftprojecting beyond the gripping jaws after the thread is severed for theformation of at least the first stitch at the beginning of a seam. Thislocation of the knife relative to the gripping jaws will insure that thethread will not be pulled from between the gripping jaws until after thefirst stitch has been completed. The knife is secured to the frame bymeans of a bolt 56. Obviously upon loosening the bolt 56 the knife maybe adjusted about the bolt toward and from the'thread gripping aws.

lVith the above construction and arrangement of the thread gripping jawsand the thread cutting knife, the thread may be very easily andconveniently inserted between the gripping jaws and severed. After themachine has been stopped at the completion of a seam formation, thethread gripping jaws then lying relatively in open positions, theoperator, after disengaging the shoe from the channel guide, inserts thethreadv be tween the thread gripping jaws and severs the same by firstmoving the shoe to the left and upwardly and then moving the sameforwardly and slightly to the right. The movement of the shoe to theleft and upwardly will draw the thread across the lower side of thethread arm andagainst the left side of the block 10, and the movement ofthe shoe forwardly and to the right will carry the thread between thejaws of the gripping device and over the thread cutting knife.

Having explained the nature and the invention and having specificallydescribed a machine embodying the invention in its preferred form whatis claimed is:

object of 1. A 'inseam shoe sewing machine hav- I ranged to receive thethread as the shoe is removed from the machine by the operator and tohold the free end of the thread under tension during the first part of aseam formation and means for controlling and relatively actuating thejaws of the gripping device to cause the same to lie relatively in openpositions to receive the thread when the work is removed from themachine and to lie in closed positions so as to grip the thread duringthe formation of at least the first stitch upon starting the machine.

2. An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch formingdevices, a thread gripper arranged to receive the thread as the shoe isremoved from the machine by the operator, and means for opening thegripper to receive the thread upon stopping the machine.

3. An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch formingdevices, a thread gripper, arranged to receive the thread as the shoe isremoved from the machine by the operator, means for opening the gripperto receive the thread, and mechanism for closing the gripper to grip thethread upon starting the machine.

at. An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices, a thread gripper arranged to receive the thread as theshoe is removed from the machine by the operator, and means for openingthe gripper to receive the thread upon stopping the machine and forclosing the gripper to grip the thread upon starting the machine.

5. A sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming devices, acam shaft, a thread gripper, and means controlled by the reversal of thecam shaft for opening the gripper to receive the thread.

6. An inseam sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch formingdevices, a cam shaft, a thread gripper, means controlled by the reversalof the rotation of the cam shaft for opening the gripper, and means forclosing the gripper upon starting the machine.

7. A sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming devices, athread gripping device comprising thread gripping jaws arranged toengage the free end of the thread to hold the thread under tension andto allow the thread to slip between the jaws under the strain exertedthereon by the stitch forming devices during the first part of a seamformation, a thread cutting knife for severing the thread between thegrip ping device and the work, and means for securing the parts inposition arranged to permit a relative adjustment of the gripping deviceand the knife toward or from each other to vary the length of threadleft projecting beyond the gripping jaws after the thread is severed bythe knife.

WILLIAM C. MEYER.

